EU to apply market status to Russia in full MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - Market status will be applied to Russia to the fullest extent, the deputy head of the European Commission office in Russia said.
Vincent Piket said he had every reason to expect that Russia would receive market status before the next top-level Russia-EU meeting. Russia and the EU are scheduled to hold a summit in Copenhagen in November.
There is strong economic evidence that this will be an absolutely correct step, Piket said. The Russian government has in recent years achieved major results in the implementation of comprehensive economic reform programs, he said in an interview published in the newspaper Vremya novostei on Tuesday.
Commenting on the problem of equalizing Russian domestic and external prices for energy resources, Piket said the EU has repeatedly talked about the need to reform price policy in the energy sector, and thinks that domestic and western producers work under different regimes.
But the equalization of energy prices is not an issue in the context of granting Russia market economy status, Piket said. This issue will dominate negotiations on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, he said.
When it comes to the WTO, the EU, even after Russia receives market status, will continue to use the procedures and rules of its antidumping legislation in regard to third countries, Piket said. If the issue concerns dumping, unfair competition, or excessive subsidies, the EC will step in, and a detailed investigation will be conducted in each case. Based on the results of these investigations, a decision will be made and dumping tariffs set. This could refer to any country; it could be Russia, or Chili or the United States, Piket said. <>
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